Omaha By Design: Omaha, Only Better

by Ken Mayer

The bicycle is arguably one of humankind’s most elegant and efficient machines. Most everybody loved to ride when they were kids. The bike extended our ability to explore and gave us a bit of freedom that walking just couldn’t match.

But we got off two wheels and abandoned self power when we became old enough to drive. The car gave us much of the same advantages of our bikes, only more so.

I got back on my bike fairly soon after I started driving because, well, I love to ride. Now, after nearly four decades of riding the streets of Omaha, I think I have a pretty good view from the saddle. I’m afraid the scene has improved in some ways and gotten worse in others.

The city has long been something of a bike hostile town. It took us a long time to begin building bike trails. Maps of the trails have been published frequently, but most of the routes were “proposed” for very long periods of time. In my opinion, if something is proposed for more than about five years, it’s really more of a pipe dream.

The single best addition to bike trail riding of late has been the completion of the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge because it linked Omaha’s patchwork system to a host of long contiguous riding opportunities in Iowa.

The next best development has been the proposed (and funded) Bike Omaha System.

The Peter Kiewit Foundation and an anonymous foundation have given Activate Omaha about $600,000 to implement a pilot project of on-street bicycle facilities that will entail 20 miles of bike lanes, bike boulevards and trail expansions/extensions.

Another bright spot is the Omaha Metro Bike Blast under the auspices of the Hot Shops at 13th and Nicholas. One of the project’s first art bike racks to be completed and installed was designed and built by Benson area attorney, artist and, by his own admission, tastefully decorated Vietnam combat veteran Mark Goodall. The rack is located on Maple Street in front of the Community Center at 60th. Not only is his piece functional and decorative, it’s also playable as Goodall demonstrates:

UNO has established a free bike-sharing program to encourage physical activity, protect the environment and provide an easier way to get around campus. Eight unlocked bicycles are available to any UNO student or employee and can be picked up or left at any campus bike rack.

On the dark side, unfortunately, our rules of the road continue to favor the automobile. I think that if we truly want a walkable and bikable community, we need to balance the ledger. As a pedestrian, I have had more than one good scare because of the right turn on red rule. It’s easy to step off the curb with the “walk” light and be nearly run down by a driver who is watching for traffic to their left as you walk in front from their right. In densely pedestrian areas like downtown, The Old Market, Dundee and Benson, right turns on red need to be uniformly prohibited.

When I started riding a bicycle, there were no cell phone calls, text messaging or Internet surfing; cup holders were little more than a couple of dents on the inside of the glove compartment door, and cars didn’t double as breakfast nooks and kitchenettes.

Today when I’m riding on the street and look over to see a driver drinking a latte and talking on the phone, I’m immediately aware that I’m way too close to a vehicle operated by somebody who is, statistically at least, as good as drunk!

Bicyclists are far more vulnerable than people in cars when it comes to low speed collisions. A fender bender level impact between two cars can be fatal between a car and bicycle. A bike lane, lacking a physical barrier, won’t necessarily prevent this kind of tragedy.

At a minimum we need to do one of two things, preferably both:

1. Improve the trails such that several different rides of at least 30 non-circular miles can be taken without ever mixing with cars on public streets.

2. Ban cell phone use while driving. How much evidence do we need to know that this is dangerous?

If we want people to ride and enjoy their bikes in the City of Omaha, we are going to have to make our streets much less bike hostile. Meantime, you may see me out enjoying my second childhood – riding my bike down the sidewalk.